Character Creation

[Stix]

Wow, that was a lot of reading. Well, I usually favor the chaotic neutral, or chaotic something alignment so I was thinking either the Athar or the Beliver of the Souce would be a good faction. The Aasimar and the Tiefling are new to me. I'm thinking a Tiefling would be better suited for me, but hey, half-elf is cool with me too. Is Ranger/Mage a decent dual class? If not fighter mage is fine.

Btw, I'm not trying to be flimflam about my character's race, faction or class. I just want to create someone who would fit well into where the game is now, that's why it seems I am leaving it pretty open. I'm not afraid to die, but I won't go rushing into a knife fight either. Anyway, that's why I don't mind leaving a lot of it up to you. But if you insist that I take it up on my own I have no qualms about making a definate decision.

Athar or Believers would be welcome additions. There aren't currently any PC priests, so an Athar shouldn't have any player-based enemies off the bat. A Believer would take philosophical exception to the Bleaker or Dustman PCs, but there'll probably be a couple different PC parties, so she could easily avoid them.

My only stipulation on those racial options is that if you choose a Tiefling, I'd ask you to play the character with an evil or at least selfish streak (i.e. nongood alignment). We don't yet have a half-elf PC, if you feel like doing something that nobody else is.

Ranger/mage is great. We've got a good number of mages and specialist wizards, so there'll be great opportunity to trade spells and combine talents.

If you'd like to get things rolling, feel free to start a thread entitled with your character name, and I'll help you set up a sheet.

[Stix]

Link to the Tiefling entry for simplicity's sake

I made the rolls to determine Xianna's tiefling appearance traits and supernatural abilities. If you don't find them to your liking, you can post a new d100 roll by typing "[ dice=100 ]" without the extra spaces inside the brackets.

I guess Ability Scores are the next priorities. Select your ability score option from the following chart:

16/15/14/14/14/14

16/16/15, 39 points divided between remaining 3 stats

16/16/16, 37 points divided between remaining 3 stats

17/15/14, 39 points divided between remaining 3 stats

17/16/15, 36 points divided between remaining 3 stats

17/17/16, 33 points divided between remaining 3 stats

18/15/14, 36 points divided between remaining 3 stats

18/16/15, 33 points divided between remaining 3 stats

18/17/16, 30 points divided between remaining 3 stats

19/15/14, 33 points divided between remaining 3 stats

19/16/15, 30 points divided between remaining 3 stats

19/17/16, 27 points divided between remaining 3 stats

20/15/14, 31 points divided between remaining 3 stats

20/16/15, 28 points divided between remaining 3 stats

20/17/16, 25 points divided between remaining 3 stats

If you wish, you may move up to two points from each of your three set stats to your pool to be divided between the remaining three.

I've also added in the template for the sheet; I'll fill things in we work them out.

[Stix]

artemis said:

Appearnace sounds fine, I'm still not all sure what the ability roles are, (remember that this is a new system for me). As far as alignment, i think she would be neutral evil, not a crazed hatchet killer, but not lawful in any sense. As far as home plane, hell i dunno, some place like Carceri or the Abyss. Hell I dunno. The chart for abililty scores is kinda confusing, sorry I'm a lil tarded about it all.m

Tieflings receive five spell-like abilities, resistances, or other supernatural capabilities as their racial bonus. Xianna's Invisibility 2/week and Comprehend Languages 1/day function just like those spells. Electricity and Cold Resistance 5 means that she takes five fewer points of damage from a Lightning Bolt or Cone of Cold or the like. Darkvision replaces Infravision -- instead of seeing heat, it's the ability to see normally to a certain range in low or no light.

With the ability score chart, you choose the line you like and give the character the appropriate stats. For example, let's say I pick:

17/15/14, 39 points divided between remaining 3 stats

I might set up the ability scores like so:

Str: 17
Dex: 15
Con: 14
Int: 14
Wis: 14
Cha: 11

Or like this:

Str: 12
Dex: 17
Con: 14
Int: 14
Wis: 15
Cha: 13

In each case, I used the 17, 15, and 14, and my remaining 3 stats add up to 39. Essentially, it's set up so you can have a bunch of good stats, or a few excellent stats and some average ones.

[artemis]

OK, let;s do the 17, 15, 14, w/ 39 left
Strength:14
Dex:17
Con:15
Int: 16
Wis:14
Charisma: 9

I figure someone as hateful as her woulldn't have much charisma, and I would need the Dex for a ranger and a lil intel and wisdom for the mage.m

[Stix]

Doh! I missed a point in the explanation -- the three set stats are your highest scores. With the 17/15/14 +39 spread, none of the last 3 stats can be higher than 14.

Charisma isn't just a measure of how likable a character is -- it's her ability to lie or intimidate or use animal empathy, as well. Tieflings have a minimum of 11 in the stat; they inherit some natural charm and/or force of personality from their fiendish blood.

For consideration down the line: what would you like the character to be really good at in the future? Will she focus on spellcasting? Wilderness ability? Combat? Something else entirely?

[artemis]

LOL! So much for being a superbeast!
ok then how about this:
18-15-14-w/ 36
Strength:15
Dex:18
Con:14
Int:13
Wis:12
Char:11

You said you have plenty of magic users and I would imagine lil miss Xianna would wanna kick some ass, with a luttle magic assist. I dunno, I've never played an evil character before, and Tieflings are very new to me so I don't know if they would be more magic motivated or if race has much to do w/ it. I do know I want her to be quick.m

[Stix]

I've marked Xianna's skill chart with her Class Skills and Ability Score Modifiers. Class Skills are marked with an X, points are spent on a 1:1 basis, and a skill can go as high as 4. Cross-Class Skills are twice as expensive, and can only be raised to 2. You have 34 skill points to spend as you like.

The Equipment board off of the main page has a list of weapons, divided by grouping. In addition to Simple Weapons and Crossbows, Xianna will be proficient in 3 of these groups.

You'll also have the choice of an Expertise. There's more detail on these in the Ranger entry.

[artemis]

ok. so I have 34 points to spend to up any of the X'd boxes?
And I can choose 3 simple weapos or crossbows?
And choose a level 1 ranger expertise which is favored enviornement or enemy? Do i have any restrictions on those like cost or wieght? Or it just cant be an exotic weapon? And what does the Type:P and stuff mean?
Which ones are cross class skills?
Im sorry I'm so muddled I spent 1/2 the night drinking and playing Magic the Gatthering. But just like in that game, if we can get me past all this technical stuff I'll be alright! Let's just treat me like I'm a slow 14 year old and I'll catch on real quick!m

[Stix]

Ah, booze and MtG. Those were good nights.

Your class skills are everything with an X next to it. Cross-class skills are everything without an X. While I didn't list all the Knowledges on your sheet, they are all class skills for you (Mages like to get their learn on).

Weapon Type: P=Piercing, S=Slashing, B=Bludgeoning.

I'm gonna drastically simplify the weapon thing: what can you best envision her using to kill someone/thing? Does she focus on archery as a huntress? Does she hurl knives at an encroaching threat, or skewer it on the tip of a spear? In a fight to the death, does she aim to cleave a foe's skull in two, or bury a chiv in his guts and watch him bleed out up close? Something else?

You may choose either a favored enemy or environment. Enemies would be things like Githzerai, or Baatezu, or some other specific race or creature. Environments would be deserts, or forests, or plains, or the like.

[artemis]

OH MY GOD i TYPED A WHOLE TOME AND WAS NOT LOGGED IN SO I LOST IT!!!
Let's do this again. Now, if it is something like hide that has an ability modifier can I still add 4 and that would equal 8? Anyway, here's what I've decided to spend my points on.
Knowledge(factions):2
Knowledge(geography):3
Knowledge(nature):3
Knowledge(planes)2
Spell craft:2
Handle animal:3
*Intimidate:4
*Sense motive:2
Listen:2
Heal:2
Literacy3
Search:1
Control:1
*Use magic device:2
Decipher script:1
And I would like to add Knowledge(arcana):1
Now how many weapons can I carry? I would like to have a Heavy repeating crossbow w/ heavy quarrel for long range, a throwing axe for when enemies are closing, a rapier for melee fighting, and maybe a dagger or 2 to stash in my boots or whever as a sneak or last resort weapon. If I can't carry all that then I will definatley down size.
As far as armor i really don't know what a lot of it is. I would imagine I want something effective yet light and unresticting to my movement.
Maybe if you had a link to creatures and other races I could choose my favored enemy.
Whew

[artemis]

Also, can i carry a shield? I know mages usually need their hands free to deal w/ their spell components but don't Tieflings draw on their bloodline for their magic?

[Stix]

artemis said:

Now, if it is something like hide that has an ability modifier can I still add 4 and that would equal 8?

Yes. The ability modifiers are bonuses above and beyond the number of points you invest in a skill.

artemis said:

Now how many weapons can I carry? I would like to have a Heavy repeating crossbow w/ heavy quarrel for long range, a throwing axe for when enemies are closing, a rapier for melee fighting, and maybe a dagger or 2 to stash in my boots or whever as a sneak or last resort weapon.

Those weapons are all fine.

Armor does interfere with your spellcasting (like a fighter/mage in 2nd ed), but there's a Feat you can pick up that lets you wear some light armor without problems. Check out the armor list and decide what sort of balance you'd like.

AC: Bonus to your Armor Class. Each point reduces your chance to be hit by 5%.
DC: Damage Conversion. Each point downgrades one point of damage to nonlethal damage (bruises instead of cuts, basically). If you have DC 1 and someone clubs you for 4 damage, you take 3 damage and 1 nonlethal. Nonlethal damage heals much faster, and makes it increasingly likely that you will fall unconscious instead of dying when you reach 0 HP.
DR: Damage Reduction. 1/- means you take one less point of damage from whatever hits you. 1/Slashing means you take one less point of damage from anything except slashing damage.
Max Dexterity Bonus: The biggest bonus you can have, due to Dex, to your AC. You'll probably want anything with a +4 or more, since anything else will slow you down and actually cost you protection.
Spell Failure: Aim for anything 15% or less.

A shield is usable if you want to forgo spellcasting, but all casters, regardless of race or class, need to use some sort of gesturing.

I don't have anything offhand for a list of favored enemies, unfortunately. Maybe we'll just leave it for now and you can choose after you've played a while and gotten a feel for the game and what's in it.

[artemis]

Hauberk if it's not too cumbersome

[Stix]

Got it. Weapons and armor eat up a good chunk of her starting cash, but she's still got over 700 GP left. I recommend saving a few hundred for training.

The 3 skill points you've put into Literacy will allow her to read three more languages. Do you want to pick anything in particular now, or would you rather wait for a while to put her in play and see what's out there?

It's a little out of order, but I want to go ahead and advance Xianna to third level before coming back to equipment and feats. Unlike 2nd edition, when you gain a level in this system, you can choose the class to improve. Moving up to 2nd, you can add on a level of Ranger-Mage for extra wilderness/spellcasting stuff, or you could take a level of Fighter to learn more weapon and armor skills, or even Barbarian if she "went savage" for a while and developed a berserk fury type of ability. Any class is an option, except Paladin or Priest (due to her Athar membership).

Here are some thoughts on what to do with those levels.

The Tiefling Paragon Class might be of interest to you. It gives some bonus supernatural abilities (you could have Comprehend Languages at will, if you wanted), and most importantly, +2 Dex when you have 3 levels of it (which would be at 4th level, when you'd be Ranger-Mage 1, Tiefling Paragon 3).

Bloodlines are something I have yet to add to the site, but the two I'd like you to see are the "Demon" and "Devil" bloodlines -- Demons are Tanar'ri, the chaotic evil fiends, and Devils are Baatezu, the lawful evil fiends. Bloodlines are totally optional, but if you'd like to take one, you may choose a minor (grandchild or further-removed from a fiend), intermediate (child of a fiend or distant heir of potent bloodline), or major bloodline (direct child of a fiend, fiendish blood on both sides of family tree). At each level, you receive the listed bloodline bonus, and over time, you spend one, two, or three levels on the bloodline (not necessarily all at once).

Prestige Classes are something to build a character toward -- they're particularly specialized or powerful classes that require specific prerequisites (again, I don't have them on the site). I'll give a look through the books and run down a few with you some time to see if you're interested. The one that comes to mind at the moment is the Duelist, which focuses on light weapons (like the rapier) and no armor.

Of course, with all these options, just continuing in your current class shouldn't be neglected. Ranger-Mage 3 gives you some bonus feats, 2nd-level spells, bonuses to all your saves, good combat ability, and a fine haul of skill points.

[artemis]

I suppose I should build on my ranger/mage class, though beserker does sound tempting. I guess I should choose one weapon group to be proficient at, I guess I'll take the crossbows, if that makes me better at them. I would like to think she would like to kill an enemy w/ out them see her coming. But she definatley doesn't mind getting a lil blood on her. Bwah hah hah hah! An intermediate bloodline is fine, the one w/ the lawful evil alignment, devils I think. I suppose I will wait to see what's out there before determining languages, knowing me I'll pick something all exotic that we won't even run across. Anything else I need to think about?m

[Stix]

artemis said:

I suppose I should build on my ranger/mage class, though beserker does sound tempting. I guess I should choose one weapon group to be proficient at, I guess I'll take the crossbows, if that makes me better at them. I would like to think she would like to kill an enemy w/ out them see her coming. But she definatley doesn't mind getting a lil blood on her. Bwah hah hah hah! An intermediate bloodline is fine, the one w/ the lawful evil alignment, devils I think. I suppose I will wait to see what's out there before determining languages, knowing me I'll pick something all exotic that we won't even run across. Anything else I need to think about?m

I went ahead and bumped you to Ranger-Mage 3 and gave you proficiency in Exotic Weapons (so you can use things like the hand crossbow or the githyanki triple crossbow). You can conserve some skill points and feats until you get a better feel for the game and how you'd like to improve her.

Only thing left is spells. Do you have a 2nd edition PHB? If so, pick five first-level mage spells to get you started.

[artemis]

Now do you mean Gary Gygax Player Hand Book or Wizards of the coast? For some reason my fiance has the first PHB with the cheesy looking demon on it. And he has the one by David Noonan PHB II with a stone looking demon on the cover and some dude trying pry the ruby eye out if it. If it's neither of these I'm afraid you will have to send me a list. Now in the PHB II seems like a supplement, I found a 1st level Ranger spell,(sucks). Then there are sorcerer/wizard spells which has exactly 6 1st level spells. Now the ol' Gary Gygax edition has all those magic user spells that I am familiar w/ and almost know by heart. But once again, not the 2nd edition. However I am expecting something in the mail soon. I went on Amazon.com and just went order crazy w/ D&D books. But I think most of those were the early stuff since I'm in a campaign right now set w/ that edition. Yeah, I know I'm a pain. OH, and I found AD&D 2nd edition Tome of magic, my DM never uses it, he says it's pretty useless. But then again my DM is my fiance so i believe everything he says

[Stix]

artemis said:

Now do you mean Gary Gygax Player Hand Book or Wizards of the coast? For some reason my fiance has the first PHB with the cheesy looking demon on it. And he has the one by David Noonan PHB II with a stone looking demon on the cover and some dude trying pry the ruby eye out if it. If it's neither of these I'm afraid you will have to send me a list. Now in the PHB II seems like a supplement, I found a 1st level Ranger spell,(sucks). Then there are sorcerer/wizard spells which has exactly 6 1st level spells. Now the ol' Gary Gygax edition has all those magic user spells that I am familiar w/ and almost know by heart. But once again, not the 2nd edition. However I am expecting something in the mail soon. I went on Amazon.com and just went order crazy w/ D&D books. But I think most of those were the early stuff since I'm in a campaign right now set w/ that edition. Yeah, I know I'm a pain. OH, and I found AD&D 2nd edition Tome of magic, my DM never uses it, he says it's pretty useless. But then again my DM is my fiance so i believe everything he says

The PHB I'm referring to is actually the edition in between those -- the Mage spells haven't changed much since the Gygaxian original, though, so if you want to pick from those, go for it.

www.penpaperpixel.org/tools/d20spellfilter/

The above link is a spell filter; you can sort by class and level, and it'll give you links to the description of each spell.

[artemis]

Guess what I got in the mail today!! It's the PHB w/ some crazy barbarian dude busting through a door on the cover, is that the one? Also, do I choose sorcerer or wizard spells? And does it matter what school they come from, conjure, evocation etc.

[Stix]

That's the one!

Sorcerer and wizard spells are all the same. Mages don't have any spell school restrictions.